Stocking



A. B. HEINKE.

STOCKING.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI7,19Z1.

1,399,299. Patented Dec. 6,1921.

j; flZbeTLfB. Heinke PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT B. HEIN'KE, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

STOGKIN G.

Application filed May 17,

To all whom it may concern:

e it known that I, ALBERT B. HEINKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stockings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the method of knitting stockingshaving aseamless leg and heel and a full fashioned foot. The object of my invention is to form a stocking having a leg and heel formed in a continuous operation and shaped in the manner in which stockings are knitted upon a circular machine for knitting seamless stockings; terminating the leg, at the instep, and the heel with a loose course formed in the fabric, slitting the heel along the bottom and back center line to permit the fabric to be extended, with the edges of the heel and instep placed in a straight line, and transferring the same to a machine for forming a full fashioned foot; knitting the foot to the instep and to the heel along the lines of the said loose courses; folding the foot over upon itself and looping the toe together and seaming the foot from toe to heel along the edges of the foot, and extending the seaming along the slit portions of the heel to join the same together and complete the stocking.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, Fi re 1, is a side elevation of a stocking em odying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a leg and heel of a stocking showing the first step in the operation of my improved method; Fig. 3 is a view showing the back or edge of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4, is a View in elevation of the stocking, showing the heel split and a foot formed upon the heel.

In the drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts 1 represents the stocking consisting of a leg 2 and a heel 3, which are formed 1n a continuous operation upon a circular machine, and known as a seamless stocking. The leg 2 terminates at the instep 4, as shown in Fig. 2. The heel 3 is completed and is properly shaped. The shading upon the heel is to indicate that the rows of stitching or threads are continuous around the heel, and the line 5 indicates a gore formed in the heel by the machine in finishing the spherical shaped heel.

The fabric is terminated with a loose Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 470,363.

course of stitching, extending along the line 7 of the instep 4 and the line 8 of the heel 3. The loose course facilitates in transferring fabric from a circular machine to a straight machine.

The leg and heel are made with a drop stitch forming a line 9 throughout thevertical back center line thereof. The line 9 thus formed in the heel is utilized as a guide in carrying out my method.

The heel is slit along said line 9, formin slit portions or edges 12 and 13 of the hee? The slitting of the heel extends to a point 14, along the guide line 9 of the heel, which permits the fabric to be placed in a straight line, as indicated by the line l515 Fig. 4, and transferred to a straight machine for forming the foot 20; which is knitted in fiat formation and joined to the leg along the line 7 of the instep,.and to the heel along ifzhe lines 8, thus forming a full fashioned oot.

The stocking is now looped together at the toe in the usual manner, the edges 21 and 22 of the foot 20 are seamed together and the seaming is continued around the heel for joining the portions 12 and 13 of the heel together, restoring the heel to its original formation and completing the stocking.

Heretofore stockings have been made by different methods, one of which forms a seamless stocking made upon a circular knittin machine which forms the leg with the hee formed thereon; also the foot and the toe. There is another method.forming what is known as a full fashioned stocking, made on a fiat machine as distinguished from a circular machine. By the latter method, the leg and heel are made in a flat or open form, then transferred to a flat footing machine which forms the foot and the toe. The latter are then looped and the sole of the foot and the entire back of the le is seamed to com lete the stockin y present method? as above described, has the advantage over the previously known methods by forming a leg and heel on a circular machine, and forming the foot and toe on a flat full fashioned knitting machine. By'this method a stocking is produced havin a properly shaped and round seamless hee and having a full fashioned foot and toe, thus saving in the cost of manufacture, increasing the production and combining the best features of the seamless and a claim an full fashioned stockings. And my method eliminates the formation of the heel separately from the leg, heel, as is now necessary in all othermethods for making a full fashioned stocking. Havin thus described 111 invention, I d desire to secure by tters Patent: 1. The method of forming a stocking by knitting a seamless 1e and heel, slitting the heel to permit the fa ric to be extended in flat formation, and knitting a foot in fiat formation to the heel and end of the leg and seaming together the edges of the foot and the edges of the heel to complete the stocking. V p

2. The method of formi a stocking by knitting a seamless leg and heel in one continuous operation, slitting the heel to permit the fabric to be extended in fiat formation, and knitting a foot in flat formation to the heel and to the end of the leg and seaming together the edges of the foot and the edges of the heel to complete the stocking. 1

3; The method of forming a stocking by knitting a seamless leg terminating at the instep on one-half of the leg, and continuing to knit the heel upon the other half of the leg forming a seamless heel, and forming a loose course around the termination of the heel and instep, slitting the fabric to peralso any looping of themit the same to be extended in flat formation, and knitting a foot in flat formation; to the heel and to the instep, and seaming together the edges of the foot and the slit edges of the fabric to complete the stocking.

4. The method of forming a stocking by knitting the leg in circular form with a heel formed as a continuation upon the leg, terminating the leg and heel with a loose course of stitching, slitting the heel along the center line of the bottom and the back to permit the fabric to be straightened out and knitting a full fashioned foot in flat formation upon the end of the leg and heel and seaming together the outside edges of the foot, and

heel, forming the sole of the foot and bottom and back of heel.

5. The-method of forming a stocking by knitting a seamless leg, and heel with a drop stitch extending along the center line of the bottom and back of the heel by slitting the heel along the line of the drop stitch to permit the fabric to be extended in fiat formation, and knitting a foot in flat formation to the heel and leg, and seaming together the edges of the foot and the slit edges of the heel to complete the stocking.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

- ALBERT B. HEINKE. 

